One of the first things Darrell Washington did when the state of Massachusetts contacted him with news he'd won the first $1 million prize in the VaxMillions giveaway was to turn to Google.
"I received a call and then I received an email, and me being the research person, I'm like, well, OK, let me just see if this person's name is right, so I Googled it and it came up, I think — it didn't say chief of staff, I forget what the title was," the 63-year-old Weymouth resident recalled after posing with an oversized ceremonial check at the State House. "I was like 'Oh my God, this is real.'"
Chelsea High School student Daniela Maldonado first thought her phone call, too, was a scam. Then came an email and a call from her mom.
Washington and Maldonado, the recipient of a $300,000 scholarship grant, won the first round of the VaxMillions contest, a state incentive program that will ultimately bestow five $1 million prizes and five scholarships to Massachusetts residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Washington got his shots in April and Maldonado in May, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday as he and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg welcomed the pair of winners.
Washington, a case worker at Blue Cross Blue Shield, said he felt it was important to get vaccinated because he has family members with comorbidities.
"I just couldn't imagine me being a host for the virus and then getting them sick and critically ill, and possibly passing away. I just couldn't do that, so whether there's a booster, doesn't matter, I will take it," he said.
He encouraged people to ask themselves, "Is your child, is your spouse, if your grandparents, are they worth you getting a vaccination?"
"That risk seems to be very, very easy for me to resolve, and I think you will too," Washington said. "I mean, if you care about them, then I think you would probably do that."
Maldonado, 15, said she comes from a low-income family and the $300,000 grant will let her "achieve goals that I wanted to do, but would have not been able to do if I hadn't had this scholarship."
The rising sophomore said she's eyeing Boston University and the University of Massachusetts as potential college destinations, and her academic interests include history and math.
Four more weekly VaxMillions drawings are planned, and Thursday is the deadline to register and have completed a vaccine regimen — either by receiving one Johnson & Johnson shot or both Pfizer or Moderna shots — in order to be eligible for next Monday's drawing. Winners from that round will be announced next Thursday, Aug. 5.
The final drawing is scheduled for Aug. 23, with registration accepted through Aug. 19 and winners announced Aug. 26.
The announcement of the initial winners comes the same week as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its masking guidance to advise that everyone — including those who are fully vaccinated — resume wearing masks in indoor public spaces in areas where the Delta variant is fueling "high" or "substantial" COVID-19 transmission.
Baker said he is still reviewing the CDC guidance, and to expect an update "soon."
As of Wednesday, almost 4.34 million people in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Baker said that since officials first announced the giveaway in June, about 200,000 people have gotten their first shot and about 330,000 have become fully vaccinated.
Goldberg said she hoped Thursday's event serves as a reminder of future drawings.
"With the Delta variant sort of creeping around our state, now is as good a time as any to make sure that you get vaccinated, so you can be with us here, too," she said.
